Cupcake Toothpaste, Teeth Grinding, Mouth Guards & 15 Other Dental News Items - Dec. 2015

(1) Will cupcake flavored toothpaste get your child to brush for the  recommended 2 minutes, twice a day?



(2) If you suspect that you may be grinding your teeth as you sleep, I can do a quick check-up to determine if it's true.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/well-good/teach-me/74789044/how-teethgrinding-can-harm-your-health



(3) For the most pressing medical issue facing the NFL today—head injuries—a mouthguard acts as an early warning system.

http://www.wired.com/2015/12/how-the-humble-mouthguard-will-help-football-get-safer/


(4) Candy Canes. Hot Cocoa. Gingerbread Cookies. Sweets overload this holiday season? Hermey the Elf, Dental Do Gooder, can help with that!

"Have You Been Naughty or Nice With Your Teeth?"

http://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/babies-and-kids/holiday-healthy-teeth-tips



(5) Hermey the Elf shows kids how important it is to care for their teeth in these fun, holiday coloring pages.

http://www.mouthhealthykids.org/en/activity-sheets/color-with-hermey



(6) WHAT IF YOU HAD ANIMAL TEETH? takes children on a fun, informative, and imaginative journey as they explore what it would be like if their own front teeth were replaced by those of a different animal.

Featuring a dozen animals (beaver, great white shark, narwhal, elephant, rattlesnake, naked mole rat, hippopotamus, crocodile, and more), this book explores how different teeth are especially adapted for an animal's survival.

At the end of the book, children will discover why their own teeth are just right for them. And they'll also get a friendly reminder to take good care of their teeth, because they're the only teeth they'll ever have.

Each spread features a photograph of the animal using its specialized teeth on the left and a humorous illustrated image of a child using that animal's teeth on the right.

http://www.amazon.com/What-You-Had-Animal-Teeth/dp/0545484383/



(7) Using sugary mints to mask bad breath is a bad idea. I recall when you could buy little bottles of peppermint oil at any grocery store, to squirt into your mouth. I don't know why they vanished.

But here are some herbal alternatives for fresh breath, plus foods that improve your overall body pleasantness.

https://sg.style.yahoo.com/post/134710912833/25-foods-that-make-you-instantly-sexier



(8) Prevention and early detection can help avoid pain, trouble eating, difficulty speaking and school absences.

“When people are beginning to do their pediatrician checks to make sure their kids are school-ready, make sure teeth are part of it,” says pediatric dentist and American Dental Association spokesperson Dr. Mary Hayes.

http://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/babies-and-kids/back-to-school



(9) Teeth from a cave in south China show that Homo sapiens reached China around 100,000 years ago — a time at which most researchers had assumed that our species had not trekked far beyond Africa.

“This is stunning, it’s major league,” says Michael Petraglia, an archaeologist at the University of Oxford, UK who was not involved in the research. “It’s one of the most important finds coming out of Asia in the last decade.”

http://www.nature.com/news/teeth-from-china-reveal-early-human-trek-out-of-africa-1.18566



(10) "Foods that are high in cellulose--a strong starchlike compound found in celery, carrots, and apples--act as natural abrasives, cleansing teeth and removing surface stains naturally," says Jeff Golub-Evans, D.D.S., a cosmetic dentist in New York City.

And greens such as spinach, broccoli, and lettuce contain mineral compounds that form a film over the teeth, so pigments from other foods can't stain.

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/beauty/whiten-teeth



(11) Are you making any of these mistakes with your teeth, the jewels of your mouth?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/healthcom/20-mistakes-youre-making_b_8247584.html



(12) You may be ruining your precious teeth and not even realize it.


http://www.medicinenet.com/habits_that_wreck_your_teeth_pictures_slideshow/article.htm



(13) Why do wisdom teeth get "impacted"? What are the symptoms of an impacted wisdom tooth?

http://www.colgate.com/en/us/oc/oral-health/conditions/wisdom-teeth/article/impacted-tooth



(14) Your teeth connect you to life via eating and society via talking and smiling. Ever wonder why your teeth come in different shapes?

http://healthyteeth.org/different-kinds-of-teeth/



(15) People are starting to realize that neglecting dental health can bring about a disaster to their overall health.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/why-dont-we-treat-teeth-like-the-rest-of-our-bodies/380703/



(16) Healthy teeth are vital to overall health. They can also be a glamour status symbol to some people.

http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/06/why-is-america-obsessed-perfect-teeth.html



(17) I hate to have to say it, but soda is incredibly bad news for teeth. More and more research is showing this to be true.

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/news/a50116/diet-coke-harms-teeth/



(18) Illinois House approves greater role for dental assistants.

http://www.rebootillinois.com/2015/12/03/editors-picks/mark-fitton/illinois-house-expands-dental-care-bids-farewell-to-frank-mautino/49732/



(19) They had to chase Burge. When they caught up with him, he had hid items he stole from the store in his pants.

They found he had steaks, a bottle of Advil PM -- and a Crest Teeth Whitening Kit.

http://wnct.com/2015/12/03/kinston-police-say-repeat-criminal-stole-teeth-whitening-kit-steaks/



(20) Diabetics have special issues with dental care. They are twice as likely to lose teeth.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/tooth-loss-is-higher-among-people-with-diabetes/